Boeing Co (BA.N) and Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) will team up to bid on a new U.S. Air Force long-range bomber program, a multibillion-dollar project that U.S. Air Force officials have described as a top acquisition priority.
Boeing, which has played a role in every U.S. bomber program since World War Two, would be the prime contractor on the next-generation bomber program, with Lockheed as its primary subcontractor, the companies said on Friday.
The Air Force has said it plans to buy as many as 100 new bombers for no more than $550 million each.
In July, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel vowed to protect several weapons programs, including the new bomber program, if Congress failed to reverse mandatory budget cuts and the military opted to preserve high-end capabilities over size.
Top Pentagon leaders had made a concerted effort to continue funding initial design work on the bomber program to ensure that all three companies(Boeing,Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman Corp) an were able to maintain teams of design engineers, he said.
Source: Reuters
